Magnetic toy game

ABSTRACT

A toy game using the force of a permanent magnet to make indicia on magnetically attractive discs, which are normally invisible below a translucent closure plate, visible through the closure plate by attracting them against the underface of the closure plate; a circular plate which can be rotated by hand, and radially arranged small transparent windows under which portions of the translucent closure plate over the discs may appear.

United States Patent Inventors Samuel Span Teaneck; Walter Thum, Fair Lawn, NJ. (93 Bellmont Ave., Paterson, NJ. 07509) Appl. No. 720,505 Filed Apr. 11, 1968 Patented Mar. 30, 1971 MAGNETIC TOY GAME 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 273/ 139, 273/1 Int. Cl ..A63b 71/06, A63f 9/00 Field of Search 273/139,

138 (A), l (E), l (M), 130 (A), 131 (A), 134 (A), 135 (A), 136 (A), 136 (B), 141 (A), 142, l42(3)(.10), 143(3), 140, 126 (A);46/236, 237, 238,239,240

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,409,302 1 H1968 Harrison 273/ l 39 700,589 5/1902 Webb 273/139 1,257,045 2/l9l 8 Stotler 273/1(M) 2,708,580 5/l955 Hamilton... 273/130(A) 2,795,427 6/1957 Sachs 273/139X 3,053,538 9/1962 Roca 273/1 39 Primary ExaminerAnton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner--Amold W. Kramer Attorney-Sparrow and Sparrow ABSTRACT: A toy game using the force of a permanent magnet to make indicia on magnetically attractive disks, which are normally invisible below a translucent closure plate, visiblethrough the closure plate by attracting them against the underface of the closure plate; a circular plate which can be rotated by hand, and radially arranged small transparent windows under which portions of the translucent closure plate over the disks may appear.

PATENTED RAR30|971 3572719 my A MAGNETIC 'rov GAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to toy games in general and to such games which are played by chances or luck rather than by skill, using the force of attraction between a permanent magnet and magnetically attractive members or discs.

The prior art discloses toy games in which hand-operated magnets are used for moving toy pieces over a board, or those in which hidden stationary magnets are used in conjunction with movable magnets, whereby the attracting forces of opposedpoles or the repelling forces of poles of equal polarity are used. These toy games are played either by skill alone or by skillful handling of suddenly appearing chances. According to the. present invention, the game is simply played by manual chance operations of the toy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention in its general aspect comprises a magnetic toy game consisting of a body having preferably a circular cutout or opening in the upper face thereof in which is disposed a plate'adapted' for rotation about a central vertical axis by means of stud projecting from the plate. This plate is provided with a plurality of recesses arranged in a predetermined pattern in radially extending rows, magnetically attractive membets such as discs being disposed in the recesses, the latter being freely vertically movable therein. At least some of said discs carry on their upper faces indicia. A closure extends over the plate and is provided with radially extending rows of transluscent windows or members arranged over the recesses. A cover is fixed on the body over the rotatable plate, which has lesser number of radially extending rows of transluscent windows than the number of radially extending rows of transluscent windows on the rotatable plate. A permanent magnet, operable by hand is slidable over the transparent windows on the cover for attracting the said discs within selected recesses towards the underfaces of the corresponding transluscent windows, respectively. When the plate is spun by means of said stud and comes to rest, the rows of transluscent windows on the plate may or may not be in register with the transparent windows on the cover. If, at this period of rest, the rows of transluscent windows in the plate are in register or substantially in register with the transparent windows in the cover, then the magnet may be positioned over a selected transparent window, thus raising the magnetically attractive disc and making visible the particular indicia thereon. An example depicting how the game may be played is given in the description.

The invention consists in such novel features, construction arrangements, combination of parts and improvements as may be shown and described in connection with the apparatus herein disclosed by way of example only and as illustrative of a preferred embodiment. The toy game which can be played by at least two persons combines pleasant and exciting surprises of an amusing and entertaining type with certain educational values. It can be played by children as well as by adults; it is light and portable and can easily be operated without any special skill;

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereafter and in part will be obvious herefrom or may be learned by practicing the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out'in the appended claims.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel game in which the force of a small hand-operated magnet is used for attracting magnetically attractive members bearing indicia from a concealed position to a viewable position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a magnetic game provided with a fixed part having windows and a rotatable part having recesses containing magnetically attractive members, the purpose being to align recesses in the rotatable part with windows in the fixed part by chance spinning of the former part and raise the magnetically attractive members in the recesses to make them visible by application of a magnet.

A further object of the invention is to provide a magnetic game which is light and portable and consists of a minimum of operatable parts.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a toy game in which pleasantly exciting surprises of amusing and entertaining nature are combined with certain educational properties.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a novel and attractive game which is inexpensive and which is easy to manufacture.

Various further and more specific purposes, features and advantages will clearly appear from the detailed description given below taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which forms part of this specification and illustrates merely by way of example one embodiment of the device of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the following description and in the claims, parts will be identified by specific names for convenience, but such names are intended to be as generic in their application to similar parts as the art will permit. Like reference characters denote like parts in the several FIGS. of the drawing, in which:

FIG. I shows the toy game in isometric projection, partly broken away;

FIG. 2 shows in detail a partial section of the game, taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. I;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a preferred magnet for operating the game;

FIG. 4 is the plan view of the magnet shown in FIG. 3', and

FIG. 5 shows in detail a partial section somewhat similar to FIG. 2, in slightly varied form.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in more detail to the drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment by which the invention may be realized, there is shown in FIG. I a substantially flat rectangular body 11 which may consist of wood, fiberboard, metal, plastic or the like. Body I I has a cavity, for example, a circular recess 12 within which is disposed a freely rotatable disc or plate 13 having an upwardly extending vertical stud 15 in the center thereof. A cover 14 is secured to body I l and extends over the upper' face of plate 13. Stud 15 freely protrudes through a hole in the center of cover I4, high enough for engagement with the thumb and a finger of the operators hand for rotating or spinning plate 13.

A plurality of recesses I6 are arranged in a plurality of equidistant radially extending rows in plate 13 and in a defined pattern. As a practical example, there are shown in FIG. I eight such radially extending rows, three recesses 16 in each row.

The recesses 16 are shown in the drawing as through openings in plate 13, the bottoms thereof being covered by a bottom plate 13b However, it is understood that the recesses may be less in depth than the height of plate 13, thus eliminating plate 1311.

A magnetically attractive member such as disc 17 loosely lays in each one of the recesses 16, which is free to move verti cally therein (assuming that the game is supported on a flat surface). Members or discs 17 are substantially less in height than the depth of recesses 16. A predetermined number of said discs or members ll7 carry on their upper faces designated indicia, such as, for example, numerals, symbols, words, characters, etc. Secured to the upper face of plate I3, is a closure, for example a thin'disc 13a made of any suitable material, such as cardboard or plastic having a plurality of transluscent windows or members 18 which register with recesses 16 and consequently closure 13a has the same number and arrangement of transluscent windows as the plate 13 has recesses. Closure 13a may comprise a sheet of transluscent plastic made opaque by any suitable means in areas other than those intended for the portions or members 18.

Cover 14 which is secured to body 11 and extends over the upper face of plate 13 is provided with a plurality of transparent windows or members 19, preferably having at least the same diameter as recesses 16 or transluscent members 18. Windows 19 are arranged in cover 14 in the same pattern or order as the transluscent windows 18 and recesses 16, with the exception that there are only half as many equally distributed radially extending rows as there are in plate 13. The example shown in FIG. 1 has four rows of windows in plate 14. Cover 14 may comprise a sheet of transparent plastic made opaque by any suitable means in areas other than those intended for windows or members 19.

The manipulating part of the game comprises a permanent magnet which is attached to a holder 21. Thus, the magnet may be round, oval, rectangular or may have any other shape. FIGS. 3 and 4 show a rectangular magnet.

As an example, the game may be played as follows: Plate or disc member 13 is given a spin by the player or operator by engagement of his thumb and finger with stud 15. When plate 13 stops spinning or rotating it might be in a position where the transluscent windows or members 18 do not appear under the transparent windows 19. In this case, the plate 13 again may be spun or advanced until the rows of transluscent windows or members 18 are in register or substantially so with transparent windows 19 (depending upon the established rules and penalties of the game). The player now takes magnet 20 by gripping its handle or holder 21 and places it at random over one of the transparent windows 19 thus raising the concealed magnetically attractive member 17 against the corresponding transluscent window 18 hoping, per chance, that a desired indicia will appear under the transparent window. The magnet 20 is positioned so that the said indicia may be exposed. The rules may provide for values, such as points or prizes relating to the characters or indicia appearing on the magnetically attractive members 17.

As shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2, (to the left of the FIG.) the member or disc 17 which is in the corresponding recess 16 is attracted by magnet 20, disc 17 virtually jumping up under the corresponding transluscent window 18 and whatever indicia is inscribed or printed on the upper face of disc 17 now becomes clearly visible upon contact of said face with said transluscent window 18.

A slight modification of the structure of the device is shown in FIG. 5, the windows in cover 14 may comprise merely openings 19a therein. Furthermore, it is understood that, cover 14 may be provided with transluscent instead of transparent windows. in the latter modification, closure 13a may be provided with transparent instead of transluscent windows.

it is apparent that as many players as desired may join in the game and that the game is amusing and entertaining. It is further apparent that many variations of game rules may be established. While the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to a certain preferred example which gives satisfactory results, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the principle of the invention, that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. A magnetic game comprising a body having a cavity, a circular plate in said cavity arranged for rotation, means for manually rotating said plate, said plate having a plurality of recesses, a magnetically attractive member in each of said recesses, said member being substantially less in height than the depth of said recess and vertically movable therein, a cover attached to said body, said cover being disposed over the top of said plate and provided with a plurality of windows, a magnet, said windows being located in such manner in relation to said recesses that at least one of said recesses may be positioned in substantial register with one of said windows by rotation of said plate whereby when said magnet is positioned above said one of said windows, said magnetically attractive member in said one of said recesses will be attracted by said magnet and bring into view the upper face thereof, a closure on said plate covering said recesses, said closure having windows in alignment with said-recesses, means to conceal said upper face when said magnetically attractive member is at rest on the bottom of said recess, said means to conceal said upper face comprising the windows in either one of said cover or said closure being openings and the windows in the other one of said cover or said closure being translucent.

2. A magnetic game comprising a body having a cavity, a plate in said cavity arranged for rotation means for manually rotating said plate, said plate having a plurality of recesses, a magnetically attractive member in each of said recesses, said member being substantially less in height than the depth of said recess and vertically movable therein, a cover attached to said body, said cover being disposed over the top of said plate and provided with a plurality of windows, a magnet, said windows being located in such manner in relation to said recesses that at least one of said recesses may be positioned in substantial register with one of said windows by rotation of said plate whereby when said magnet is positioned above said one of said windows, said magnetically attractive member in said one of said recesses will be attracted by said magnet and bring into view the upper face thereof, means to conceal said upper face when said magnetically attractive member is at rest on the bottom of said recess comprising a closure for said plate covering said recesses, said closure having windows in alignment with said recesses, said windows in said closure being translucent.

3. A magnetic game according to claim 2 indicia on at least one of the upper faces of said magnetically attractive members.

4. A magnetic game according to claim 2, indicia on the upper faces of a preselected number of said magnetically attractive members, said indicia becoming readable through said windows in said cover which are in substantial register with corresponding recesses in said plate when said magnetically attractive members are attracted upwardly by said magnet. 

1. A magnetic game comprising a body having a cavity, a circular plate in said cavity arranged for rotation, means for manually rotating said plate, said plate having a plurality of recesses, a magnetically attractive member in each of said recesses, said member being substantially less in height than the depth of said recess and vertically movable therein, a cover attached to said body, said cover being disposed over the top of said plate and provided with a plurality of windows, a magnet, said windows being located in such manner in relation to said recesses that at least one of said recesses may be positioned in substantial register with one of said windows by rotation of said plate whereby when said magnet is positioned above said one of said windows, said magnetically attractive member in said one of said recesses will be attracted by said magnet and bring into view the upper face thereof, a closure on said plate covering said recesses, said closure having windows in alignment with said recesses, means to conceal said upper face when said magnetically attractive member is at rest on the bottom of said recess, said means to conceal said upper face comprising the windows in either one of said cover or said closure being openings and the windows in the other one of said cover or said closure being translucent.
 2. A magnetic game comprising a body having a cavity, a plate in said cavity arranged for rotation means for manually rotating said plate, said plate having a plurality of recesses, a magnetically attractive member in each of said recesses, said member being substantially less in height than the depth of said recess and vertically movable therein, a cover attached to said body, said cover being disposed over the top of said plate and provided with a plurality of windows, a magnet, said windows being located in such manner in relation to said recesses that at least one of said recesses may be positioned in substantial register with one of said windows by rotation of said plate whereby when said magnet is positioned above said one of said windows, said magnetically attractive member in said one of said recesses will be attracted by said magnet and bring into view the upper face thereof, means to conceal said upper face when said magnetically attractive member is at rest on the bottom of said recess comprising a closure for said plate covering said recesses, said closure having windows in alignment with said recesses, said windows in said closure being translucent.
 3. A magnetic game according to claim 2 indicia on at least one of the upper faces of said magnetically attractive members.
 4. A magnetic game according to claim 2, indicia on the upper faces of a preselected number of said magnetically attractive members, said indicia becoming readable through said windows in said cover which are in substantial register with corresponding recesses in said plate when said magnetically attractive members are attracted upwardly by said magnet. 